Biography

Hailed as “a true virtuoso” by Fanfare Magazine and lauded as a “tour-de-force” by American
Record Guide, Justin Benavidez joined the faculty of the Eastman School of Music as Associate
Professor of Tuba and Euphonium in 2023. He is Principal Tuba of the Syracuse Orchestra and
spends his summers on faculty at the Round Top Music Festival in Round Top, Texas and as
Principal Tuba of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, California.
Benavidez has performed across North America, Europe, and Japan. He has appeared as a
concerto soloist with various ensembles, including the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the United
States Army Band “Pershing’s Own”, the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, and the Eastman
Wind Ensemble. His debut solo album Emblems won Silver Medals in the Classical Album and
Solo Instrumentalist categories of the 2018 Global Music Awards. The International Tuba
Euphonium Association Journal described it as “an impressive and highly entertaining record”
on which Benavidez “shreds with enthusiasm, exuberance, and precision.” His second album
Storyteller won Silver Medals in the Classical Album and Solo Instrumentalist categories of the
2022 Global Music Awards and was named a finalist for the 2023 ITEA Roger Bobo Award for
Excellence in Recording. Fanfare described the album as “splendidly eloquent […] a masterclass
in expressiveness.”

As an orchestral tubist, Benavidez has performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra,
Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and Utah Symphony. He is the only tubist to have
been awarded the Orchestral Fellowship and the New Horizons Fellowship at the Aspen Music
Festival where he was a student for six summers, held the principal tuba chair in the festival
orchestra, and was the winner of the Aspen Music Festival concerto competition.
Benavidez was the distinguished recipient of the Horace H. Rackham Merit Fellowship for
doctoral studies at the University of Michigan and was presented with the University of
Michigan Paul Boylan Award for outstanding accomplishments and significant contributions in
the field of music. As a scholar, Benavidez was awarded the McKnight Faculty Fellowship to
complete his research on the most significant solo repertoire for tuba, culminating in a critical
volume that will be published by Oxford University Press. He serves as Editor-in-Chief for the
ITEA Journal and was the editor for Flow Studies through Mountain Peak Music, a daily routine
regimen for tuba.

As one of today’s leading educators, Benavidez is frequently invited to present master classes
and perform as a guest recitalist at preeminent universities, workshops, and conferences. Notable
invitations have included Indiana University, the University of Michigan, Yale University, Rice
University, the Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo, the Bern University of the Arts in
Switzerland, the Lyon Conservatory of Music, the Paris Conservatory of Music, and multiple
International Tuba Euphonium Conferences. He was awarded the Florida State University
Teaching Award in 2021 for exceptional teaching and mentorship. Benavidez’s students have
distinguished themselves through numerous accomplishments and awards, including first place
prizes at international competitions, performing positions in premier military bands and
orchestras, and teaching positions at secondary and collegiate institutions.
Benavidez is a Melton Meinl Weston and Denis Wick performing artist.